Atmospheric moisture as well as water produced by gasoline engine combustion condense in engine oil and introduce a significant amount of water. This water affects the oil performance.
To illustrate the problem, condensation of moisture from atmosphere into oil in colder climates leads to as much as 5-16% water emulsified as droplets in oil. An additional source of water is that obtained as a by-product of gasoline engine combustion. The presence of water changes the performance level of the oil. Further the oil temperature will change from subzero (depending on the ambient conditions) to as much as 100° C. as the engine/machine continues to run. Changes in water including vaporization will introduce complications which could lead to chemical reactions and/or oil degradation.
Thus, it would be useful to provide an onboard oil-water separation device and/or method to reduce the water content in oil to an appropriate level (a few tenths of a percent or less). While the issue of water-emulsified fuel is extremely prevalent in automobiles, certainly any engine or machine utilizing internal combustion and oil would benefit from a water filtration system of this type as water is a by-product of any gasoline combustion process.